Rain fury has caused devastation across India’s northern states with hilly-state Himachal Pradesh facing the maximum brunt. The incessant rainfall in the hill state led to increased water levels in the Malan River resulting in a bridge built over it being swept away by the river in spate.
The bridge, which collapsed on Thursday (July 13) morning following heavy rainfall in the district, had significant importance as it connects Kotdwar with Laldhang and Bhabar area in Pauri Garhwal. This incident left nearly two dozen villages stranded at the district headquarters.
Three bike-borne people fell into the Malan River when the incident took place. While Prashant Dabral (32) is missing, two others were injured in the accident. A search operation is on to trace him, police said.
The foundation of the 300m-long bridge caved in as the Malan River which is flowing in spate due to incessant rainfall for the last few days. As a result, long queues of vehicles were witnessed on both sides of the river, which were later directed through alternative routes by the police.
Monsoon rain grapples Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand
Over 300 roads were also reported to be blocked across Uttarakhand as a result of continuous rainfall in the hills. This includes the national highways connecting Char Dham shrines.
The onset of monsoons has left the residents of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh in shock. Monsoon rains led to massive waterlogging, road caves-in, collapsed homes and gridlocked traffic in large parts of northern India, killing more than 100 people over two weeks. At least 88 people died, 42 of them in the past five days, and more than 100 were injured in the worst hit-mountainous Himachal Pradesh state where cars, buses, bridges and houses were swept away by swirling flood waters.
Although the rain stopped in most of the Garhwal region yesterday, districts in the Kumaon region continued to receive showers. In the meantime, the meteorological department has forecasted more intense spells of rain in the Nainital, Champawat and Udham Singh Nagar districts on Friday as well.
The situation in low-lying areas of the Haridwar district like Laksar continued to remain grim as many areas remained flooded.